Physical knobs on portable and mobile radios may be limited as to a number of modes with which they may be used. Furthermore, when using a physical knob to select values from a list of values, it may be difficult to quickly select a single value from a large number of values and/or select a single item from a long list of items, especially when trying to perform such a selection without visual reference. For example, at a portable or a mobile radio, when the radio is currently on channel 1 and a physical knob is to be used to scroll to channel 322, such scrolling may be time consuming. Similarly, when a physical knob is used to scroll through a series of embedded folders to find a file of interest, to find a single value from a long list, a long structured list, or an alphabetical list, such scrolling may be time consuming. Each of these situations is exacerbated when such scrolling occurs without visual reference, for example, when scrolling results are not viewable on the physical knob, and/or a display device. For example, such situations may occur when an emergency responder is using a radio in a situation where looking at the radio may be challenging, such as in a smoke-filled room and/or when the emergency responder is wearing protective face gear or protective breathing gear.
Accordingly, there is a need for a force-scalable stationary interface control.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.